They were gentle hands, strong hands, capable hands; they were the hands of a woman, a mother, a woman to walk beside a man, not behind him.”
–Louis L’Amour (Taggart)
“A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.”
“A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.”
–Proverbs 18:22(HCSB)
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I used a quotation yesterday on Facebook for my “Echo” and I want to share it with you on this devotion today.
“They were two people who had little use for words for they had a perfect understanding; they had the simplicity of faith.”
–Ernest Haycox
It was about this time of year, fifty-four years ago that Annie and I started dating. My mercy, that is a few years ago. But we walked together, as Amos wrote, together, going in the same direction, agreeing on where we were going and how we were going to get there. The journey is not over, and we’re still on our way.
Listen, life is so much easier, better, and enjoyable when you walk with someone you love and agree with. We’ve shared some steaks along the way, but I reckon most of our fare has been beans. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we have not been poor or destitute and never had to eat feathers. When we started out we knew that the Lord was going to take care of us, that we were going to trust Him in our life’s journey. Even today, and I won’t go into details, we know that He will take care of our every need until that time we cross over Jordan to be with Him.
An old cowboy sage, Waddie Mitchell, wrote a poem, “There’s Nothin’ Like Nothin’.” There is some real truth there for there surely is nothin’ like nothin’ when I’ve got her. Through the years, we have had little and we’ve had abundance. We’ve lived in run down trailers and we’ve owned three houses, well, actually the mortgage company owned two of them. We’ve gone through several vehicles, a few gathered some bumps and scratches along the way–hmmm, just like us. We’ve climbed up hills, some of them were mountains, and we’ve gone through the valleys. But through it all–we had each other and we had the Lord. He was and is always faithful.
She stuck with me on all the trails we’ve taken and never questioned which fork in the road we should take. However, that being said, I could never have made it by walking alone, I needed her by my side. I don’t think we ever made a decision about which road to take, but I wonder about some of the obstacles that came our way on the road. Each place we lived we learned, we grew with each other and in our faith, and found purpose in each place.
Storms and battles are part of life. We’ve gone through hurricanes, thunderstorms, and hailstorms. We’ve traveled down foggy roads, up mountain passes when it was a mixture of rain, sleet, and snow. Once we spent time in the cooler of a restaurant in Goodland, Kansas because of a tornado heading our way. It makes me wonder what storms were in the spiritual realm that we could not see, and for that I am thankful. For when we cannot even see, we knew that God would be faithful.
Yes, fifty-four years ago I began a quest to get this girl from Pennsylvania to be mine. She could cook and she could sew. She can bake, and her hand felt so good in mine. I was ready to pop the question, but she was hesitant. We had to separate for the summer; she went to summer school, I had to go home to work so I could come back to school in the fall. Perhaps that separation made her think more fondly of me, and we met at a wedding of good friends, Gary and Kathy Hines, in Ohio. From there I took her home, in pouring rain, and along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I pulled off to the side. Not much romance in the pouring rain, on the turnpike with trucks roaring by, but there I asked the question, in trepidation, and she said a resounding, “YES!”
“No man should have to walk the earth alone. A man should have a mate, to share his luck and his strength, but his sorrows as well.” (Louis L’Amour) I never had to walk alone, I never had to suffer alone, I never had to worry or fret. I had someone to walk with me, and she never faltered along the way. I found a virtuous, a capable wife and found that indeed she is more precious than gold or rubies or other gems. “The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will not lack anything good. She rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life.” (Proverbs 31:11-12, HCSB)
———————————–
I used a quotation yesterday on Facebook for my “Echo” and I want to share it with you on this devotion today.
“They were two people who had little use for words for they had a perfect understanding; they had the simplicity of faith.”
–Ernest Haycox
It was about this time of year, fifty-four years ago that Annie and I started dating. My mercy, that is a few years ago. But we walked together, as Amos wrote, together, going in the same direction, agreeing on where we were going and how we were going to get there. The journey is not over, and we’re still on our way.
Listen, life is so much easier, better, and enjoyable when you walk with someone you love and agree with. We’ve shared some steaks along the way, but I reckon most of our fare has been beans. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we have not been poor or destitute and never had to eat feathers. When we started out we knew that the Lord was going to take care of us, that we were going to trust Him in our life’s journey. Even today, and I won’t go into details, we know that He will take care of our every need until that time we cross over Jordan to be with Him.
An old cowboy sage, Waddie Mitchell, wrote a poem, “There’s Nothin’ Like Nothin’.” There is some real truth there for there surely is nothin’ like nothin’ when I’ve got her. Through the years, we have had little and we’ve had abundance. We’ve lived in run down trailers and we’ve owned three houses, well, actually the mortgage company owned two of them. We’ve gone through several vehicles, a few gathered some bumps and scratches along the way–hmmm, just like us. We’ve climbed up hills, some of them were mountains, and we’ve gone through the valleys. But through it all–we had each other and we had the Lord. He was and is always faithful.
She stuck with me on all the trails we’ve taken and never questioned which fork in the road we should take. However, that being said, I could never have made it by walking alone, I needed her by my side. I don’t think we ever made a decision about which road to take, but I wonder about some of the obstacles that came our way on the road. Each place we lived we learned, we grew with each other and in our faith, and found purpose in each place.
Storms and battles are part of life. We’ve gone through hurricanes, thunderstorms, and hailstorms. We’ve traveled down foggy roads, up mountain passes when it was a mixture of rain, sleet, and snow. Once we spent time in the cooler of a restaurant in Goodland, Kansas because of a tornado heading our way. It makes me wonder what storms were in the spiritual realm that we could not see, and for that I am thankful. For when we cannot even see, we knew that God would be faithful.
Yes, fifty-four years ago I began a quest to get this girl from Pennsylvania to be mine. She could cook and she could sew. She can bake, and her hand felt so good in mine. I was ready to pop the question, but she was hesitant. We had to separate for the summer; she went to summer school, I had to go home to work so I could come back to school in the fall. Perhaps that separation made her think more fondly of me, and we met at a wedding of good friends, Gary and Kathy Hines, in Ohio. From there I took her home, in pouring rain, and along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I pulled off to the side. Not much romance in the pouring rain, on the turnpike with trucks roaring by, but there I asked the question, in trepidation, and she said a resounding, “YES!”
“No man should have to walk the earth alone. A man should have a mate, to share his luck and his strength, but his sorrows as well.” (Louis L’Amour) I never had to walk alone, I never had to suffer alone, I never had to worry or fret. I had someone to walk with me, and she never faltered along the way. I found a virtuous, a capable wife and found that indeed she is more precious than gold or rubies or other gems. “The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will not lack anything good. She rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life.” (Proverbs 31:11-12, HCSB)